BBC: The US and Iranian Battle Over Pistachio Trade

Tensions run high between Iran and the United States. The Trump administration, criticizing the terms, claims that Iran is not in compliance over the nuclear deal and decertified what is known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Other signatories – China, Russia, France, Germany and the United Kingdom – do not agree and remain in the agreement with Iran. The tensions affect trade, and Iran and the United States control more than 70 percent of the trade in pistachios. “Over the last forty years, Iran's growers have faced pressures from sanctions, tariffs and restrictions on their ability to access international financial tools,” reports Zoe Thomas for BBC News. Pistachios, not targeted by sanctions, were affected by banking restrictions The US industry began in the 1930s with pistachio seeds, and its industry boomed after the 1979 Iranian revolution. The US continues to impose tariffs on Iranian pistachios. But Iran’s industry found an opening after a US drought in 2014, the nuclear agreement the following year and increased demand from China. Iran’s growers encounter water shortages, too, and prices for the crop have risen since 2002. – YaleGlobal